Arrangement for automatically varying the elevation of a gun for a given range according to the height of the target.



GUN FOR A GIVEN RANGE ACCORDING TO THE HEIGHT OF THE TARGET.

"my Mm APPLICATION FILED FEB. 16. 19 1r. 1,143,428.

\S. .E 5 s E N/ M E. MULLER. ARRANGEMENT FOR AUTOMATICALLY VARYING THE ELEVAHON 0F A'GUN FOR A GIVE N RANGE ACCORDING TO IHE HEIGHT OF THE TARGET.

APPLICATION HLEU FEB-16.1911.

Patnced June 15, 1915.

I I 7 f9 57 45 .45 54 Ir a! Miller.

E. MULLER. ARRANGEMENT FOR AUTOMATICALLY VARYING THE ELEVATION OF A GUN FOR A GIVEN RANGE ACCORDING TO THE HEIGHT OF THE TARGET.

Patented June 15, 1915.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I6, 19H.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- S E S S E N N M UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL MULLER, OF DUSSELDORF, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO RHEINISCHE METAL!!!" WA'AREN- UNI) MASCHINENFABR-IK, OF DUSSELDORF-DERENDORF, GERMANY,

A CORPORATION OF GERMANY.

residing at 83 (lollenhachstrasse, Dusseldorf,

Germany, have invented certain'new anduseful Improvements in Arrangements. for

- 7 Automatically Varying the Elevation of a Gun. for a Given Range According to the" Height of the Target; and I do hereby declare the following-to be a full,clear, and

a. subject of the Ge'rmaniEmperor,

- ARRANGEMENT FOR AUTOMATICALLY VARYING THE ELEVATION or A'GUN GIVEN RANGE ACCORDING TO THE Specification of Letterslatent.

Application filed Tebruary 16,1311. Serial No. 608,915. 2

exact description of the invention, such as .will enable others skilled in the'art to which it QDDQItHlHS tO make and use the same.

It is well known that the angle of'elevation of the barrel of a gun for a given range should depend upon the height of the target relativeto the importance for ordinary field engagements, since the targets zontal plane of the muzzle of the gun. But this condition has assumed practical importance since it has become necessary to tire at targets which are very much above the gun and subtend a large angle with the horizon as for exam le when firin at aerial vessels. In such cases a correction of the range langle according to the altitude of the object is absolutely necessary.

F or this purpose arrangements have been proposed, in which when the sight is adjusted on the target, the range angle between the axis of the barrel and the line of sight is automatically changed, 'so thatit corresponds exactly or approximately .to the range for which the gun isadjusted, independently'of the elevation of the target.

In the known arrangements for this purpose the automatic adjustment is brought about gun. This condition is of 110' are in or nearly in thehori-' by the use ofcurved surfaces, which donot allow working.

a sufficient accuracy in practical In the present invention an arrangement .by a llne, is fixed on is employed, bywvhich'thej curve is. in the form of an arc of a circle, which can be constructed with the greatest accuracy in a, For this purpose simple andeasy manner.

in the present. invention, when the gun is elevated a pin is positively guided in. a;

curved groove of the-carriage, and'this pin is connected to the sight carrier and alters the angle between the axis of;the"barre1 'tion from "the left hand side so-callcd barrel 8 is pivoted to 7 arm 9 of the sight carrier 4.

the pin FOR' A. HEIGHT OF THE TARGET.

Patented June 15', 1915.

11 n. third construction seen in side elevaof the gun; Fig. 12 the same from the right hand side; Fig. 13 he" plan thereof, and Fig. 14 the cross section through a detail.

In all cases a barrel recoil gun is selected by way of example, although the arrangement can be used equally well. in rigid or advance guns.

The gun] barrel 1 is. guided on a cradle 2 and travels along the same during the firing. The cradle is pivoted by means of trunnions 3 in the guncarria.ge, which is not shown in the drawings. A sight carrier 4 is pivoted on the left hand trunnion, and on a lateral projection otthe same is fixed a usual sighting device consisting of object and eye-glasses or a telescope.

' "rearwardly projecting arm 5 is'also rigidly fixed to the left hand trunnion, and this arm consequently follows all the move ments of the barrel. about the axis of the running radially to the in which the pin 7 of vided with'a slot 6 axis of the trunnion, link 8 engages.

a downwardly projecting A curvedpiece 10 shown in Fig. 1 simply the carriage. The curved piece 10 can rotate around the point 11 and can be swung out into the dotted position. The end, of the link 8 on which 7.25 placed engages by means of a sliding blocker the-like in the curved piece 10, and consequently follows every move ment of the latter. A

' The operation of the described arrangeon line 33 Fig. 2; Fig... elevation;

The other end of the link.

I corresponding sections through details; Fig.

ment is as follows :-The curved piece 10 is moved outward through an angle (6. g. into the dotted line position) which depends upon the distance from the target, and which can be read off by any known method. This also moves one end of the link'S, the pin 7 sliding along in the slot 6. The link 8 will therefore cause a movement of the arm 9 and the sight carrier 4. The parts will assume the positions shown in dotted lines. The sight carrier 4 and with it the sight resting on it are moved through the angle a from their original position. If the'i'target is in the same horizontal plane as the gun barrel, the barrel must be elevated through the angle {5 until the telescope is directed on the target. It particularly to be noted that this angle 6 need not be equal to the 'a li'gle 'ar. When the barrel is elevated, the rearwardly projccting arm is also rotated through the angle {3. from its original position, 'so that the pin 7 comes into the position marked a. If the target is at an altitude the barrel -is still further elevated until the telescope is directed on to the target. While the gun is being raised, the arm 5. forces the pin 7 -Farther along the curved piece 10, which, according to the distance of the target, is more or less eccentric to the trunnion-axis. The pin 7 comes finally into the position marked 7) and during its movement comes nearer and nearer to the trunnion axis.

imparts by means of the link 8 an additional elevating movement to the'sight carrier, and itself traverses theare 8 while' themght carrier is elevated through the angle r. When the line of sight was horizontal the gun had a "ange angle {5. but when the. sight is direct- ,4

eurvcd around the trunnion axis as a center.

e at a target at an altitude r. the range angle between the sight line and the barrel aria has decreased from (5 to e, where s is the range angle for the altitude 7 and the range marked on the curved piece. The curved iece '10 is so constructed that for every altitude and For every range marked on the curred piece 10, the necessary range angle s automatically set in the prescribed manner. I v

in Figs? and 3 a construction is shown which exactly agrees with the diagrammatic representation in F g. 1, so that What has previouslv been. said also holds good here. The eurved piece 10 is in this case provided with an undercut groove in which the enlarged head 1?, of pin 7 slides.

The ran-red piece 10 is rigidly connected to a shaft. it. which is jouri'ialed in a hearing; It; fixed to the sides 15 ot' the carriage. 021 the side. ot the carriage turned away t'ron the curved piece. the shaft l4 carries an arm 17. which is provided with a worm r-r-gnu'nt This is in engagement with a worm on the carriage. which can be rotated b means of the. handle 20. Or rotatiug the handle 520 the shaft 14: and with it the curved piece 10 are swung outward. In order to prevent locking, the curved piece 10 is guided at its free'e-nd by a curved guide 21 arranged onthe gun carriage concentric to the axis of the shaft 14.

The method of operation has already been described with reference toFig. 1. The full lines show't'h'e gun at an elevation or range angle [5, which corresponds with a distance The dotted lines show the position of the parts after the gun has been trained on a target at an altitude y. In this case the angle (3 set up between barrel axis and line of sight has automatically .decreased to the value 5 and this angle a is the necessary range angle at an altitude and range m.

The Fi 4-10 show another construction. Here also there is a rearwardly projecting arm 5 attachedto the trunnions 3 which are pivoted in bearings 92. This arm has at its rear end. instead of a slot. a pin 23 (Fig. 5). This pin en ages looselv in the socket of a slide block 24. This latter can move to and fro in the guide groove of the curved piece 10 and has a laterallv projecting pin 7. To this pin is connected the link 8, the other end of which engages the arm 9 of the sight carrier. e The sight carrier 4 is loosely pivoted bV pin 25 in a socket in the trunnion. It carries the sighting telescope 26. which can rotate around a vertical pin 27 (Fig. 6) on the sight carrier. The eve piece is co-axial with the trunnion 3. so that the telescope isused from the side. The telescope Zticarries a rearwardlv pro' ectmg arm 29 on the outermost end of which a. slide block 30 slides along a slide $1. on the arm 5: this slide is such as to compensate the lateral deviation of the. shot owing to the riflins of the barrel.

A. hearing block 33 provided with a casing 32 is fixed on the'npper carriage 15. in which a worm $4 can be rotated. This latter is in engagement with a worm segment 31') of an arm 37 pivoted by means of the bolt to the bear ng block 33 (see especially Fitr. 7). The curved piece 10 engages the. arm 37 bv means of a pin 38. so that its upper end tollows the morementsof the arm 37. A pin 39 fitted in the guide hloel: -10 causes the lower end of the curved piece 10 to follow the movements or: the arm 37. This block slides in a circular groove -l-l on .the carriage 12. and the radius of this groove is such that the two pins 39 and 3R more over arcs of equal curvature. The curved piece 10 is therefore always moved parall l to itself. ront-rary to the ,previously described concording to the rang 35 gun.

struction, fixed axis.

The movement of the curved piece is eflected, as already stated, by the movement of the worm 34, whichv for this purpose is provided with a hand wheel 42. In order to read the adjustment of the curved piece the worm axis andthe cylindrical casing 32 are extended forward. The forward extension in which it oscillates around a 10 43 of the worm casing is square, and a piston 44is placed loosely in the bore of the casing and guided soas to be capable of displacement within it; the piston is provided on its periphery with a screw threaded groove 45. In the casing itself there is arranged a screw 46, which engages the screw threaded groove, so that on rotating the Worm 34 the piston receives a screw like motion.

and shows a reading, which can beset ac- Fig. 10 shows a further variation of the above described construction, the drawing showing the connection between the link 8 and arm 9 of the sight carrier 4. A slide block 50, which forms the engaging pin for the link 8, can be moved by means of. a screw 49in a slot 48 of the arm 9, By displacing the slide block 50 it is possible to make a further correction in the range angle, which may be desirable in order to allow, for example, for the speed with which the target approaches or recedes from the Figs. 11, 12, 13-and 14 show a construction of the invention as applied to a gun in which the adjustment of the altitude and range angles is effected by two completely separate mechanisms.

On each side of the/gun .barrel 1, toothed segments 51 attached to the cradle 2, are loosely pivoted on the trunnions 3. Two pinions 5.2 engage in these segments, and

can be rotated by a self locking mechanism Which will be described later. Besides this,

two other pinions 53 journaled to the car-.

riage 15, engage in the segments 51, and can be moved through intermediate worm gear by the hand wheel 54 arranged on the left hand side of the gun. If the wheel 54 is rotated then the segments 51 are swung around the trunnion axis and take with them the cradle 2, barrel 1 and the telescope 26 arranged on the left segment. This mechanism therefore serves to set the sight on the elevated target.

A' worm wheel and a worm are in engage Y ment in the casing 56 at the right hand end 0 of the axle 5 5 of the pinions 52. The worm is on the same axle as a bevel wheel 57 which engages with a bevel wheel 58. The axle 59 of this bevel wheel 58 is journaled in a collar 61 provided in a bearing frame 60. A hand wheel 62, fixed as regards rotation but ca.-

The piston carries a scale which 20 moves before the Window 47 of casing 32 pable of sliding, is arranged on the free end of the axle 59, and the bevel surface 63 of the hand wheel is pressed by a. spring 64 against a corresponding bevel surface ofthe collar 61, so that normally the collar 61 and axle 59 are coupled together. The hand wheel 62 carries on its periphery a scale to which is set a pointer 65 of the collar according to the range. For the adjustment for the distance, the hand wheel 62 has to be drawn out until the required setting.

On the right hand side of thegun (Fig. 12) a two armed lever 66 is fixed on the toothed segment, the two arms 67 and 68 of the lever forming an acute angle. 'To the pin 69 at the end of the arm 67 there is linked a slotted curvedpiece 70 (Figs. 1 2

the arm 68 which is formed as a circular arc about the center of the pin 69. The arm 68 itself is provided with teeth, which engage with a worm journaled' inthe curved piece so that the curved piece 70 can be set by rotating the worm by the hand wheel 71.

The setting of the curved piece 70 is efiected according to the range angle on firing and conforms completely with the adjustment.

.slot of the curved piece 70 and is pushed more or less along the guide 72, when the toothed segment is moved, that is when the altitude is changed, according as the curved piece is set corresponding to the range angle more or less eccentrically to the trunnion axis; *1

To the pin 7 3 is connected a draw rod 74 which is linked at the other end to a toothed segment 75 loosely journaled'on the trunnion axis, so that a movement of the pin 73 radial to the trunnion axis-any other movement being excluded by the guide 72,-causes a rotation of the toothed. segment 75. The latter transfers this movement to the collar 61 -in engagement therewith through the teeth 76. The: collar 61 carries with it the hand wheel 62 and by intermediate gearing moves the pinion so that if the altitude increases the range angle decreases, and vice versa'. the hand wheel 62 remains at the same value. It can then be easily understood how on setting the altitudethe elevation is automatically adjusted.

The draw rod 74 can be adjusted in length by a nut 77 having right and left handed screw threads. In this manner-corrections can be made in the angle between the barrel axis and line of sight, which corrections remain independent of the altitude and the range, as already described with reference to Fig. 10.

pointer 65 points to the and 14) which restsfwith its other end on The range set on the scale on 1 The arrangement described" above may give rise to a small error in the setting,

ed gunbarrel, and a. sighting device, means the tail of the carriage should be higher or gun-barrel and the sighting-device,;e curved lower than the normal position. Such variation in the position is equally as ifm POl'iJzlIllJ as a variation in the altitude The error, which is very small, can also ee silybe overcome by suitable means, for example by rotating the curved piece 10 in; Fig. 2 aroundthe trunnion axis corresponding to the altered position of the carriage according to the higher or lower position of the tail.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention and in whet'manner the same is to be per formed, we declare that What We claim is 1. I ncombination with a pivotally-mounted gun-barrel, and a 'sightingdevice, means forming a sliding connection between the gun-barrel and the sighting-device, a curved member pivoted at one end said sliding connection is sli? 1y connected, and means for moving sa;

member on its pivot whereby as the harrel is raised the angle between the axis of the barrel and the line of sight is altered.

2. 111 combinationwith a pivota1ly-mcunt- %nd to which e ifj/drming a sliding connection between the guiding member pivoted to the guncarriege at a point vertically below the barrel pivot,

at which point ell/the curvesintersect, and

means forn'iovingsaid member to adjust the angle betvyeen the axis of the barrel and .the line of,sigl1t for every elevation of a target at any given range.

3. In combination-With apivotally-mount ed gun-barrel, end a sighting-device, a slotted member carried by the gun-carriage, an" arm projecting from the sightingdevice, a, link connected to said arm and edjustahly held to said slotted member, and e curved member capable of bein moved in a plane parallel to the. plane or movement of the "gun-barrel and to Which said linlr end slotted member are slidaibly secured. I

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

EMU; MULLER. [L Witnesses:

l VALTER Yormnonr, ALFRED Hem 

